Unit information: The Body in East Asian Thought and Practices in 2019/20

Unit name	The Body in East Asian Thought and Practices
Unit code	THRSM0133
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Lomi
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Religion and Theology
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit examines the ways in which the body has been imagined, represented, and problematised by different East Asian religious and philosophical traditions. We will do so by exploring a varies of texts, practices, as well as literary and visual sources. The first aim of this examination is to reflect critically on those conceptual tools developed to deal with the human body. The second is to gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of the body as primary site for religious practice and achievement.

The unit is arranged thematically, and each week we will focus on a specific way of framing the body. The themes covered will tackle the relationship between the body, the mind, the cosmos, and society, and will also allow space to discuss issues of pollution, gender and culturally defined functions of the body. By the end of the course, it will become apparent how these ideas are intimately connected, often making us question the existence of clear-cut boundaries between, for example, religious and medical discourses.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the role and function of the physical body according to different East Asian religio-medical systems;
2. Recognise the key issues informing the notions of physical and subtle body;
3. Be able to synthesise and explain leading scholarly views on the topic of East Asian religions and the body
4. Critique oversimplified Asian mind/body theories;
5. Apply the analytical and conceptual tools acquired in this unit to specific religious practices (meditation, pilgrimage, etc);
6. Demonstrate skills in critical thinking and written communication appropriate to level M/7.

Teaching Information

1 x three-hour seminar weekly

Assessment Information

Seminar Leading Skills (20%) [ILOs 2-3]

One 4500-word summative essay (80%) [ILOs 1-5]

Reading and References

Jia, Jinhua, Gender, Power, and Talent: The Journey of Daoist Priestesses in Tang China. New York: Columbia University Press, 2018.

Kasulis, T.P., Ames, R.T. and Dissanayake, W. eds., Self as Body in Asian Theory and Practice. Albany, NY: State. University of New York Press, 1993.


Kasulis, T.P., Ames, R.T. and Dissanayake, W. eds., Self as Image in Asian Theory and Practice. Albany, NY: State. University of New York Press, 1998.


Kuriyama Shigehisa, The Expressiveness of the Body and the Divergence of Greek and Chinese Medicine. New York: Zone Books, 1999.

Schipper, Kristofer, The Daoist Body, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.

Tonomura, Hitomi, "Women and Sexuality in Premodern Japan." A Companion to Japanese History (2007): 349-371.